Future Warfare
by Mediam Noctem
Summary: Humanity has always defined themselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. We count these moments, these moments where we dared to aim higher. To reach for the stars. To make the unknown known. We have reached space but the stars are not kind, and humanity must either rise above or fall to those who live in the darkness between them. Welcome to the Future. Welcome to the War
1. Timelines

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Mass Effect or Call of Duty.

Prologue

**January 12th 2061**

CEO of Atlas, Jonathan Irons is reported killed in the New Baghdad conflict. It is discovered in his Will, that a Ryan Mitchell was to be given all of Iron's riches upon his death. It is pointed out that steps were taken to change that after discovering that "Hades" corruption file was shown to Ryan, but Irons was killed before he could finalize his changes. Ryan Mitchells gives the immediate order to all active Atlas forces to stand down, due to his lack of knowledge over administration and financial operations, he appoints two people to help work his company. They are well known for the Biomedical Company they created in the 20th century.

**2062**

Due to the actions of Atlas Corporation, it is decided that a more active, more powerful organization is needed to stop threats from possibly destroying the world ever again, one that would be the face of the world's most powerful organizations. After what could be considered a "bloodless process" a single united military organization is founded, the "Earth Alliance".

**2063**

Investigations into Atlas's activities have lead War Crime Investigators to believe that the KVA was secretly funded by Irons, this conclusion is based off the fact that: 1. With all the assets the KVA had, a highly wealthy person or organization had to have been supplying them to continue their expensive operations. 2. The clearance packages and authorization codes used to detonate nuclear power plants had to have been given by someone who had administrator access or above for important infrastructure projects. 3. "Hades" knowledge over Iron's murderer, would have required Hades to have had the clearance to get the recording in the first place. 4. The fact that funding was cut, as soon as "Hades" was killed, removing the threat to Atlas. The final results from this was that, Nuclear plants were detonated for a power grab by Atlas, Dr. Pierre's capture was intended so Atlas could remove "Hades", and Manticore was to be created with the help of Dr. Pierre.

**2069**

Plans are drawn up to colonize Mars. With the colonization of the moon in 2052, Humanity has realized that it is almost out of space again. The first Artificial Intelligence is created, designed for assisting with crop yields and food management on Earth. However, within hours it becomes self aware, creating a world-wide panic. The process of peace between the A.I and humanity goes by very carefully, and very slowly.

**2084**

Terraforming projects enter the prototype stage for the future colonization of Mars. are few and there, but are considered to be the most important contributions to the advancement of human science and technology. Reforms are being created (due to the aggressive campaigning by Equalists) to consider them to be on the same level of humans and have the same sentient rights.

**2086**

Terraforming prototypes within the Moon's biodomes have proven to have successful results, scientists are positive that the colonization of Mars is achievable within a few years. Meanwhile, non-military A.I are (under law) now considered to be equal as humans, but will face certain restrictions on certain operations and actions involving other sentient beings, these restrictions are accepted by the A.I community.

**2089**

Mars is colonized, terraforming projects begin, and the first goal is to have a breathable atmosphere within a hundred years. New methods of transportation in space are being looked into, but it seems Atlas corporation is ahead of the race. By the end of **2089**, despite running into numerous setbacks and sabotage attempts, they introduce the inertialess drive, capable of putting people on Mars in weeks. This achievement is said to have been the caused by the assistance of the A.I community that had been working on the project.

**2101**

Inertialess drives are upgraded, the solar system can now be crossed in a matter of weeks instead of years. This leads to a boom in space travel industry, the moon can be reached in minutes, Mars a day Jupiter a week, Pluto two months. The world's superpowers now predict long-term issues with the introduction of the inertialess drive, there is no effective way of monitoring and regulating what happens in space, without a proper space military. The Earth Alliance secretly begins the production of blueprints for space-based military weapons and ships.

**2120**

An alien device is discovered within Charon by Prometheus (a subsidiary of Atlas) survey teams. The relay picks up signals being sent from the orbiting ship, and activates, destroying the ice dwarf, and accidentally killing all survey teams in the process. Many people go into mass hysteria due to the many unknowns, and theories that aliens have been watching us the whole time, or controlling the events of the world. With the recent unrest, it is decided that a joint military organization is to be assembled, with a single goal: to protect Humanity as a whole. Plans and blueprints for militarization in space become public. The first A.I designed for war is created, classified as a "Warmind", the process to create it is kept classified above top secret. The first Warmind immediately begins creating potential scenarios and simulations to predict the purpose of the Charon device, the most likely possibilities are identified as: it is A) Superluminal communications device/monitoring station B) Super-Bomb C) Transportation device. Each scenario is horrifying to the world's leader, the Warmind's analysis is kept secret.

**2121**

The first Warmind, dubbed "Onyx", becomes Self-Aware. It is unknown why it took Onyx so long compared to other . After being questioned on it, Onyx cryptically replies "Because I'm different" and provides no further information on the subject. A military expedition is sent to the Charon Device to further analyze it and the threat level it is to humanity. Onyx requests to be abroad, and is given permission. The material the Charon Device is identified as being incredibly dense, a plasma laser torch at maximum power, manages to take out less than a 5mm3 worth of material. Lab studies identify the metal as being near-indestructible, with its atomic structure being locked in place. A large kinetic impact or significant amount of energy discharge (and time) is determined to be the only ways of cracking it's shell. But more interesting than that is upon nearing it, the relay activates and sends the expedition to a different solar system containing five planets and the same device in Charon. Onyx quickly discovers that the Sol system is 36 light years away, and with deductive reasoning quickly discovers how to get back home. The Charon device is renamed Charon Relay.

**2138**

Due to unexpected advancements in technology, the terraforming of mars is achieved around 50 years ahead of schedule. Venus and Europa begin, expected completion time is around 50 of the addition of Mars to the Earth Alliance, the name is changed to Planetary Alliance. The militarization of space becomes one of the largest industries out there, with Atlas leading it. After numerous research expeditions, it is discovered that the Charon Device connects to other Relay Gates which in turn connect to even more, creating a complex system of instantaneous galactic transportation. The first wave of pioneers are sent by Prometheus, and terraforming projects begin on all planets that humanity can get its hands on. Prometheus introduces humanity's first FTL drive, capable of 2 light years a day. And in a secret space station somewhere in Sol's Kuiper Belt, humanity's first dreadnought-class ship is launched, at a whooping 2 kilometers long. 2nd-generation Warminds predict that humanity will encounter a spacefaring civilization within the next 50 years. This prediction is kept secret from the general public. Atlas begins working on new projects under System's Alliance authorization designed to protect humanity from possibly hostile aliens. Construction for a space station in Arcturus System begins.

**2147**

Due to the introduction of new colonies from far away systems to the Planetary Alliance, an organizational change occurs: the Planetary Alliance is renamed the Systems Alliance. Contingency plans are created in the event that aliens take over human territory. Eden Prime is to be the decoy location of Earth in the event of an attack, the System Alliance have placed Relay Monitoring Stations near every relay, and a planetary defense program is required for every System's Alliance Colony. In addition all planetary law enforcement are required to take Hostile Environment Defense Education. Strange transmissions have been discovered coming out of the Perseus Veil, an expedition is planned to be sent out in **2148** to uncover the origins of the Perseus Transmission, and map out space in the meanwhile, it is dubbed Operation: Exodus.

**2148**

The Exodus research expedition discovers an active relay in a previously unmapped system. Reports come back to System Alliance Command, they quickly respond with a task force of battlecruisers and a Warmind to investigate. Initial results come back with nothing, and entering from the other side offers no clue to who the perpetrator was. A monitoring space station is assigned to the relay gate along with a small security attachment, all under the command of Onyx. In the meanwhile Operation: Exodus is to be placed under hold, until further investigations determine it safe for travel.

**2151**

The SSV "Singapore" disappears overs Mars after testing a new-prototype FTL engine that uses a different concept from the inertialess drive. Alliance PR manages to keep the creation of the FTL drive secret from the general public, but not the explosion caused by the ship. News agencies simply report the incident as the result of an inetrialess drive malfunction that was placed improperly, unfortunately there were no survivors.

**2156**

Humanity's population is at 55 billion. Plans for Operation: Exodus to be restarted commence, the planned date of aperture is **2157**. Warships are called back to Sol System for Fleet Combat Training and simulations under the eyes of Warminds. Expected completion time is next year. Warships from Shanxi requesting to attend it are denied, under the authorization of Onyx.

**2157**

The expedition is sent, consisting of a single Prometheus Exploratory Vessel and two private company escorts. It goes wrong in hours. One of the escorts returns, showing signs of battle. Attempting to return to Shanxi, it is chased by 3 unidentified ships before being shot down over the atmosphere of Shanxi. Distress Transmissions are received by Alliance Navy. The 2nd fleet enters Shanxi's star system twenty-four hours after receiving the distress signal; an alien fleet stands over Shanxi's…


	2. Chapter 1: Shanxi Part 1

**2:33 11/12/2157- [onboard SSV Armstrong]…**

"So whats the plan boss?"

"Were gonna sit 'till we get the order to deploy, then make sure those aliens go running back to their alien mamas."

"Keep telling you man, theres no aliens, this is strictly a humanitarian crisis - some alien virus or some such shit. Maybe the planet's governor got his cat stuck on a tree"

With a smack in the arm, came the full acknowledgement of where Private 1st Class Michael Sheperd was. "Tell em Shepherd". The single low-level light in the roof of the pod barely outlined the bunch of misfits that made up Fireteam Wardog. In the other three seats were Private 2nd Class Jon "Dunn" Lanier, Private 1st Class David Bourne, and Service Chief John Foley. The intercom at the top of the Type 2-Atmospheric Entry Vehicle came to life. And with it came the voice of the Forward Battle Commander "All pods set to drop, we're launching in 20…". Service Chief Avery looked into the eyes Private 1st Class Sheperd, before placing on the pod's safety harness. Everyone followed suit and did the same, the green light at the top of the pod signifying that everyone was ready. "Alright everyone, hold tight. Here we go." Exclaimed Avery. Shepherd's breathing increased, the adrenaline hitting him hard, "Drop Shakes" is what everybody knew it by. The drop pod's intercom activated once again "All pods ready."

"5…" Time slowed down for Michael, he could see Dunn was nervous. The tactical HUD displayed his teammates, identifying which parts of his brain were most active. Stress Hormones were running around his limbic system.

"4…" Michael checked and rechecked his weapon, the IMR Mark-3 Integrated Munitions IMR has been the prime choice of weapon for the Marine Corps, for over a hundred years. Going through numerous technological changes, but always maintaining its iconic name and appearance.

"3…" He tested his exosuit's servos, moving his arms around, then his legs. He saw everyone else doing the same in the pod. His HUD went through a few system checks within the past second.

"2…" He wondered about what his parents would say about him joining the military. Being deployed light years away from Earth. And what about the aliens, were they like us? Did they have any fears? If they don't, he knew that they would now.

"1…" No one spoke as the pod began to shake.

"Deploy, Deploy, Deploy!" The pod ejected, beginning its descent to Shanxi. Michael looked up and saw the pod's smart screen became alive, showing the SSV Armstrong gliding over the atmosphere of Shanxi. along with two other Kronos-class airships, and the hundreds of pods, like Michaels, burning through the atmosphere. Missiles and whatever the aliens used impacted the pod's floor, putting holes into the smart-screen that covered the entire pod. Michael could see his Operation's Chief sweating, his HUD showing increased heart rates in all his teammates. For the next minute, the alien's kinetic weaponry would constantly pound on the drop pod's armor, forming holes. Words were spilling out the radio, too fast and too much for even Michael's enhanced senses to pick up.

"5,000 to drop point" The pod's thrusters kicked in, the smart screens showing images of the aliens below. Their armor despite the obvious differences between the human biology, could easily be described as "being designed for combat". The smart screens around the pod deactivated, the red light next to the door flashed. And then came the impact.

**8:47 11/12/2157-Private 1st Class Michael Shepard [Shanxi]...**

A sniper rifle crackled to life, firing 30mm HE rounds..."Big Dragon, this is Wardog One-Two Actual. Requesting immediate air strike, over!" Michael sat on the remains of a balcony in what was known as Shanxi's tallest building. Unfortunately due to the intense fighting ever since the invasion, it was really the only building that was not close to collapsing. The wind was blowing hard, and fire raged across the landscape, towers broken in the distance, the inferno touching each and every building. In the distance Michael could make out the faint lights of distant firefights, green and blue lights contrasting with the red of a burning city, as the aliens were fighting a desperate last stand against those they attempted to take. The 30mm sniper rifle continued it's rampage, disintegrating it's targets.

"Negative One-Two Actual, all available air units are currently tasked with eliminating hostile air-support. Proceed north to Grid Kilo Four-Three and provide support to Tier 1 rescue forces, out." There it was, the order Michael and his team had been waiting for. They weren't anything like Wardog Team, that team's dogtags hung around his neck. It was still hard to believe, Dunn, Foley, David… all gone. All because of a fucking ambush by those bird-headed freaks. He didn't care about this team, he didn't even bother to get to know their names. It didn't matter, they were probably gonna die before the day was over anyway. But he kept going, doing order after order, pushing forward with each strike, just wanting to kill as many of those fuckers as possible. "Activate jump assists" he ordered. "We're gonna go down this building the quick way." Everyone activated their Exo's Jump Assists, counter thrusters would slow down high jumps, making it safe enough for a human to land. Michael looked upon the burning city one last time, before making his jump. The wind blew a harsh tune as he fell eighty-one stories, and then his thrusters kicked in, slowing his descent until he heard the crunch of the gravel beneath his feet. As soon as everyone else landed, he sent the "Move Out" order. Everyone's training kicked in, and they began to move as towards their objective.

Michael payed attention to his surroundings, trying to take in everything, every shadow, every fire, the destroyed architecture as he walked through an alleyway, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Somewhere in the grey walls, he saw Wardog team, their shadows. His feet had a mind of their own, moving him towards his objective without pause. And then he saw it, a group of strangely shaped humanoids, 200 meters ahead of him. Ingrained training instantly had him find cover, his team followed suite. He showed his head above the large piece of rubble he had covered behind. Everyone's HUD highlighted the unsuspecting hostiles in red; within seconds orders were handed out to the entire team. Everyone responded with a green light to Michael's helmet. 'Time to cause damage' thought Michael, his genetically enhanced endocrine system pumped adrenaline to his body, time slowed-down, and he moved into the shadows.

**21:02 11/12/2157-Turian Centurion...**

'The spirits-damned mammals, things just couldn't make things simple could they. It was suspected that this was their planet of origin, and that the few ships that were defeated was the bulk of the huemens defenses. Huemens, hoomens, whatever. That V.I they captured told them it was, obviously it must have been misinformed, it didn't mention anything about Energy Weapons, or the suppression fleet that existed. Dealing with simple humans and their kinetic weapons was easy, but this... ' His thoughts would never be finished as his squad's shields were fried by an EMP grenade, and the turian right next to him, had his head blown apart. Blood splattering all over the armor he was wearing.

Instinctively, he formed a barrier around himself. "Contacts!" yelled one of the quicker-reacting Turians, he moved out of the line fire, finding cover behind one the hoomens hover vehicles. The heavy, blocky design provided a good amount of protection from any of the ape's kinetic weapons. "Covering fire!" he ordered. He moved towards the remains another Hoomen vehicle, destroyed by the many firefights it's been involved in, but nevertheless the best piece of cover within 20 meters. He didn't have to worry about his team failing his orders, they were turians. He observed the hoomen warriors jumping to the top of one of the small roof tops, and another slide across the broken pavement and into the cover of a Turian transport carrier. Such unorthodox tactics, the closest thing he's ever seen to their strange maneuvers was by a Havoc team, but he had to admit their effectiveness.

The battle raged on like this, turians and humans would take turns attacking each other. Each time one got too close to the other's side, they would be forced to stay there, suppressed by their enemy. The game changer didn't come until twenty minutes after the battle started, in the form of a Atlas Airborne Team. Within minutes the battle turned to the marines/Atlas favor, the turians were outnumbered and outgunned. Eventually the battle ended with a single turian committing a last stand on top of a civilian hovercar.

'This it. My entire team is gone, I will die a warrior's death, worthy of any.' He continued firing his vindicator rifle, picking up a phaeston rifle on the ground. Firing from the hip as the hoomen's bullets pierced his black armor, and entered his skin. Bleeding, he continued his stand until the bullets disabled his limbs. As he laid on the broken rubble staring into the alien sky, he could not help but wonder how his family would react finding out about his death. He watched as the alien warriors slowly surrounded his body, until one of the new strange white armored ones stood above him. He tried to stare into white helmet, trying to figure out what the human was thinking, and failed. And with his last dying breath, he thought of his family and his troubled brother, Saren.

**21:59 11/12/2157-Private 1st Class Michael Shepard: **

He watched as one of the Atlas Airborne troops stood over the final turian's body. It angered him to see the soldier crouch down and close the alien's eyes, like he was some fucking human. The soldier turned towards him, and said in a surprisingly female voice "I can read your bio-signs, you're upset. These aliens are more alike to us then you think." But the anger could no longer be contained, "Like the fuck they are! They killed my friends, they attacked this planet for no reason!" She simply turned her helmet towards his direction, before walking into one of the grey alleyways, the rest of the Atlas Airborne troops moving with her. 'No point in staying behind' He and the remaining seven members of his twelve man team picked up the fallen's dogtags before moving towards their original objective.

Michael and his team continued moving north on the street. Paying much attention to their surroundings. As they moved closer to their objective, which happened to be in downtown, they noticed the sky getting darker, and the buildings more damaged. At only a short distance away, the team began to hear a firefight, with numerous garbled transmissions coming in and out from all over the place.

They picked up the speed, running towards the heavy smoke that created a grey wall in the street. "Move it! Move it!" yelled Michael. At the final hundred meters they practically began to sprint. Their boots hitting the ground hard, followed by the sound of the exosuit's motors. They ran through the smoke, their helmet's protecting them from large concentration of carbon dioxide. And as soon as the smoke cleared they saw what could only be described as hell.

They stood at the edge of a crater, created by the impact of an airship that collided with one of the alien's frigates, its hull cracked in half. And around it laid the alien's final stand. Bullets and lasers were flying everywhere, the heat was barely being held off by the armor's temperature regulators. Numerous bird-headed troops were firing from superior defensive positions into the the human rescue forces that surrounded it. Drones were swarming around the site, shaping the battlefield, like a gardener would his garden. Hundreds of troops shared the battlefield, with an equal amount of dead bodies laying in the kill box between both tides of soldiers. Michael knew that unless they destroyed whatever was jamming his comms, and received some air support, that this would become a battle of attrition, with whoever was stuck in the airship becoming a dead man walking. Unfortunately, command stated back at the tower that there were no available air units. And thats when his radio crackled.

"One-Two Actual, Standby…" One of the servicemen looked at Michael and asked "What the hell does he mean standby?" His question was answered with the loud crackle of a high altitude, heavy ion engine dropping 5000ft over the city. He looked up and saw lightning forming in the sky. "One-Two Actual, you're the only one when can contact in the area, a Paladin should be entering your airspace shortly, Callsign: Excalibur…". Everything else after that faded out. Michael was sure that the cries of excitement could be heard by the aliens. A Paladin. Holy shit! A Paladin! The god of war arrived and by god, those beneath its feet would be crushed.

His wish was answered and now he had the power to rain down never-before-seen hell upon his enemies, Michael radioed the Paladin, "Excalibur this is Wardog One-Two Actual requesting immediate air strike. Target Area will be highlighted with threat beacons. Danger Close. Over."

Michael waited for the reply, time became very slow for him as he awaited the reply. After waiting what felt like forever he received a reply, "Negative One-Two Actual, targets are being highlighted with your helmet's smart vision."'Well no shit he thought to himself 'that would have been easier'

"Just tell us when you're ready to begin termination". Michael smiled for the first time in a day, "Permission to execute strike packages on Grid Kilo..."

* * *

><p>Codex<p>

AC-250 Paladin: Introduced in 2057, the AC-250 Paladin is a heavily armed ground-attack gunship which has gone through very few aesthetic changes since its introduction. It is capable of being deployed to orbit by any System Alliance space vessel that is classified as dreadnought or above.

This Gunship has been upgraded numerous times since it rolled off the assembly line. Standard Defenses include heavy armor plating, and advanced aerial countermeasures such as ECM jamming technology. Multiple Kill Vehicles are a recent addition to the defensive systems of the AC-250. Standard Armaments include two pairs of L40 gatling lasers, two Mark V railguns, and S-210 Rapid Missile Launchers. Encounters with this aircraft usually results in the complete destruction of all hostile forces within its given area.


	3. Chapter 2: Shanxi Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or call of duty.**

**23:11 11/12/2157- Lieutenant Deceus: **

The humens surrounded the crash-site. His men were running out of rations and ammo. He knew that if none of the ships escaped to warn Palaven, then they would lose this planet. He ran to a turret as its previous gunner fell on the floor, a hole in his skull. He immediately opened fire on a group of humen warriors that were attempting to cross the the trench that divided his ship and the humen's perimeter, they responded by bringing up their spirits damn shields. 'It seemed like every humen warrior had it.' The incendiary rounds were blocked by the quickest reacting warriors, but those who didn't were cut down to little shreds of meat. He continued his streak, the turian soldiers next to him assisting him even though they themselves were bloody and injured. Everyone was but he just like everyone else he wouldn't back down.

And suddenly the strange electric buzzing could be heard. He looked towards the sky, seeing bright flashes appear in the dark grey. A lightning storm. That was when he noticed something strange, the humens were falling back, away from the ship. The drones were creating a cloud around them, sacrificing themselves to absorb all the firepower his fellow soldiers were putting into it. He could not be any more proud at the display of military unity, teamwork they put into it. However, some of his soldiers left their positions trying to chase down the retreating enemy.

"All soldiers pursuing, stay back, and reinforce defensive positions, the huemens are about to attack!" he heard someone order.

They stopped, but only to look at the sky. Instinctively he shifted his eyes too, looking at the sky, and then he saw it, the white flashes turn blood red.

Red lights began to rain from the sky, hitting the turians who originally attempted to chase down the humens. He watched as it simply disintegrated them, kicking up debris in every direction. Some of the lights got bigger, explosions coming out of the fortified positions that lay within and around the ship. His soldiers were dying and there was nothing he could do about it. Deceus could only stare in awe, as the red lights came for him…

**23:13 11/12/2157-Private 1st Class Michael Sheperd**

"Hot damn! That's gotta' hurt." Came the barely audible transmission by Excalibur.

Michael watched with satisfaction, as the Paladin fired all its weapons. Lasers destroying everything in their path, 5cm shells impacted fortified positions, leaving them little more than scrap metal.

"Oh shit! We got a lock on." But those who were remaining began to open fire on the warship. Missiles launched towards the warship. 'No No No!' Thought Michael, he could only watch as some of the drones on the battlefield intercepted a few of the missiles the aliens launched, the rest speeding towards the Paladin.

"Spark the flares! Copy tha…Deploying flares!" Flares and ECMs sparked everywhere, distracting a majority of the missiles. Meanwhile Lasers were shooting down those weren't taking the bait, making a light show that under any other circumstance would be considered beautiful, but not here, not now. And it was not enough, AA fire from the few remaining alien positions were impacting the Paladin's hull. The thick hole was being speared with overwhelming firepower The Gatling lasers overheated at the worst moment possible. Michael could only shake his head as missile after missile impacted upon the warship, the Multiple Kill Vehicles not being able to keep up with the pace. The small ten second battle ended with a blinding explosion that forced Michael to look away, even as his HUD polarized. And when he looked back up all he could see was an uncountable amount of debris sailed through the air, shredding everything it touched. Most of it hitting the crash site. Piece after large piece of metal crashed into battlefield, deforming the ground it touched. Trenches were hit, and the crashed alien ship collapsed within itself before exploding in a fiery ball. Fire incinerating everything within several hundred meters… including the airship. He jumped off the edge of the crater, entering the inferno below. Jump assists slowed him down, preventing the fall from breaking his legs or causing any injury. He glanced back up only to see two of the remaining soldiers fly down behind him before a large ion engine crashed into where they were only seconds before. Everyone who was too slow to react was crushed.

As soon as he finished landing his radio cleared up, meaning whatever jamming device the aliens were using was destroyed in the explosion. "Attention all units within the Grid Kilo two-three, your orders have been updated." He read them quickly, 'Rescue operations were to be underway immediately, with an airship coming in to carry those in critical conditions for advanced medical care and to establish a temporary hospital', Pararescue teams and soldiers ran towards the blast zone in an attempt to get out any survivors. Drones sped through the air, scanning every possibly living thing. Michael's exosuit distributed most of its energy reserves for maximum speed.

As he sprinted between the large pieces of metal and small craters that stuck out everywhere, he saw numerous soldiers giving as much medical care to others as they could to those who were injured. He ran past a dead soldier, the metal of his exosuit scorched into his skin, his body in half. The blue BDUs soaked in red, organs and blood laying on the ground and his body black burnt from the fire. 'Nothing he could for him' thought Michael. The chaos around him became a blur, he ran past more fire. More debris.  
>And even more bodies or what remained of them. He reached a door in the side of the airship, his helmet picking the faint distress signal of someone within the burning, confined spaces on the ship. Michael kicked at the door once, creating a large dent in the metal. He kicked again, the door teared off its titanium hinges, and he ran inside, stepping into the ruins of a large hanger. Metal crates were everywhere, and a wall of flame divided the entire hanger in half. 'No way anyone could get passed that, thought Michael' He began to search for the origin of the distress beacon, finding only blood splatters and ashes all over the floor. After minutes of searching, he found the distress signal's origin.<p>

It was inside a large container; unfortunately the doors were locked in place. He guessed that someone must have locked themselves inside of the crate when the ship crashed. He punched the center of the door, warping it; he repeated his action multiple times, before finally creating a hole large enough to stick both of his hands into. He put both of hands into it, before pulling apart the door. He stepped into the large dented crate. Within it he saw a young woman lying down, highlighted by the light of the fire behind him, he could see her red hair covering her face. His HUD quickly zoomed in, and discovered very faint biosigns. She was unconscious but alive. 3rd degree burns covered her body, if he didn't get her out soon, she would most likely die to asphyxiation. He picked her up, placing her over his back firemen style. He sprinted out of the hanger and into the grey corridors of the ship, unsure of whether or not the person he was carrying would survive.

He paused in confusion as the route he traced back coming in was blocked. His mind quickly realized that the hall must have collapsed upon itself. He turned around only to have that part of the hall meet the same fate. That meant that the whole ship was about to fall apart, he would have to find a way out and quickly. He frantically searched for a way out, his helmet warning him that his thermos could barely handle the heat. He laid his eyes on a damaged portion of the wall, he mentally commanded his armor to focus all its power into the exo's servos. Michael's plan was to kick the wall down, he put the girl on the floor before bringing his leg back and kicking the wall. The hall began to collapse due to the sudden structural integrity it was facing, he grabbed the woman and placed her in the fireman's carry again before walking through the hole in the wall. He could see the outside but a support pillar stood in his way.

'So close but the fucking thing is in the way'

He would have to move the support pillar out of his path, but it was to high to kick, and to break it would probably cause the entrance to collapse. He knew what he had to do, he used his left hand to grab the woman's leg, and with his right hand began to push the pillar up; the titanium began to burn his hand, but he knew that if he stopped now, the woman and him would die. Michael could feel his arms muscles began to rip, his servos working past their safety limits to move the obstacle that stood between him and freedom. With a roar he yelled giving enough space between him and the pillar to let go. He exited through the door he came in, greeted by a small team of rescue forces.

"Holy shit boss!" one of them stated. Michael's vision began to blur as he fell on his knees. "He's bleeding! Medic!" screamed one of the soldiers. A man with a red cross stepped forward, the medic Michael presumes, before reaching out and taking the girl off his back. The same guy who was talking before reaches out to Michael, grabbing his shoulder before saying "Thats a hell of a brave thing you did there, good job soldier." Those were the last words he heard before being placed on a stretcher. He quickly glanced at the woman he saved. She was also on a stretcher exactly like his. He managed to get a look at her name tag, which happened to be a half burnt "_HANNAH_…" before his vision turned black.

**Councillor Chambers, Citadel**

The trees within the chambers shed off a few leaves, the bright pink and white colors flowing through the air. The chambers were polished and clean as they always were. And through the large windows was the captivating sight of the Widow Nebula. The white and pink giving the room a soft glow, that could not be replicated anywhere else in the galaxy. Every race was competing for a podium that would allow them to have the serene sight behind them.

And Councilor Tevos was very, very unhappy with what she was hearing. 'An attack against an unknown species, yes they were breaking Council law but what exactly was the turian military thinking? Diplomacy was always the best option.' But before she could say anything Valern beat her to the punch. "And what exactly was your plan Spartacus? Defeat an unknown species with unknown capabilities and make them a client race? This was a terrible mistake on your species part; your predecessor wouldn't have allowed this to happen.

Spartacus stared at her, attempting to get her to back down, and failing. He sighed before speaking, "I have no say over what the Primarch does. And we created these laws were created for a reason, or did you forget the Rachni Wars?! We were eliminating the potential threats to galactic stability, we were doing our job… opening a mass relay could have had severe consequences". Neither one of the councilors could disagree with that answer. Spartacus stared down at his omnitool, catching Tevos attention. She asked upon seeing Spartacus's faces turn to a frown, "What's wrong Spartacus?" Valern made an educated guess before he could answer, "The Turian's plan probably backfired on them". Spartacus looked up, and softly said "The fleet the Primarch sent hasn't reported for 8 hours. Something must have gone wrong, with the communications or something." Tevos could see that Valern was doing what the Salarian's do while finding answers before they even exist, "Unlikely. Fleet was most likely destroyed by a quick response fleet. Underestimated these huemens, likely have advanced stealth technologies or advanced ship-grade weapons. Would be interesting to learn more about them."

Spartacus did not take it too lightly, "Turians? Defeated by a bunch of primitives? Thats not possible, so obviously your brain must have overlooked something." Before Tevos knew it, they were arguing again.

Tevos lightly pinched the bridge of her nose, as Valern and Spartacus were arguing over the issue, Tevos was trying to figure out peaceful solutions to the problem at hand. A diplomatic team would have to be sent, without the turians being on it. It would take time to easy away the feelings of conflict the race had towards the turians, blame could also be shifted to the patrol group's Commanding Officer. She was sure that she could, with time, solve the problem. However, in the event that they would respond in a hostile fashion to the diplomatic team, she would be forced to send the Turians to pacify their race. 'I have a lot of planning to do' she thought, she looked at the two arguing councilors before saying "I have an idea, but first a public meeting with the Primarch will need to be in order." This caught the two bickering councilor's attention. Valern paused for a moment before making an educated guess, getting every part of it right. "You want to send diplomatic team quickly, shift the blame unto the fleet's commanding officer, preventing fallout out on the council. And in the event the diplomatic team doesn't work, you can just say that the Turians were following Council laws before forcing them to join as a client race. Well Done Tevos"

And for the first time ever, the councilors' saw Valern laugh before his face became serious again.

"STG Intelligence teams are already on standby next to Relay 314, we'll know if they make any moves." Tevos smiled at that, every one of them were the best at what they did.

"Time to get to work…"

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><p>Codex<p>

Integrated Munitions Rifle Mark-3: The IMR is a selective fire assault rifle. Due to 3-D printing technology, it is capable of printing 60 rounds every 30 seconds; with a maximum ammo reserve of 540 rounds. The IMR is the standard issue assault rifle for Alliance Marines and has been in service for over a hundred years. The IMR an attached electronics suite that provides information on rounds remaining in the magazine, ammo reserve, compass heading, as well as several other convenient functions. The IMR can be outfitted with a number of modifications including flash suppressors, a grenade launcher or a shotgun, and more exotic ammunition types like Hollow Point rounds.

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><p><strong>Note: I enjoyed reading the review by a RandomReviewer, and if anyone has any other suggestions, than by all means please do speak your mind.<strong>

**I know this story doesn't seem long, and that each page seems short. But this is the very first time I've ever written something like this, so do excuse me. Anyway, next up I'm introducing a certain task force with a lot of cool toys.**


	4. Chapter 4: Just your everyday situation

**Disclaimer: I do not own mass effect or call of duty.**

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><p><strong>23:11 1119/2157-** **Committee of Minds Hearing **

"This meeting is now in order. Debriefing of the events during the "Shanxi Campaign" by WM-01NBI, dubbed 'Onyx' is now in effect."

The room became silent, as every major politician and high ranking military member within the Alliance laid their eyes upon the holotable that lied in the center of the large room. The avatar of Onyx appeared, while most Artificial Intelligences would have some resemblance to humans, or human made objects, Onyx was very unique in his choice of appearance. His avatar being a narrow, sharp figure in the shape of the greek omega, followed by a line in each side that curves down at the end, neither touching the 'omega'. Most engineers thought of the symbol as truly something revolutionary, a step forward into the individuality of Artificial Intelligences.

"Let it be reminded that discussion of any material related to this hearing to personal without the same security clearance will be considered an act of treason, punishable by SAUIMJ Article 205c. Now, the Court requests a detailed analysis over the hostile extraterrestrials that invaded the colony of Shanxi and the following battle that took place on the planet."

The courtroom shaked as a deep, heavy voice growled in response. "You ask an open question and in response you will get open answer." The icon disappeared, and in its place were pictures, autopsy reports, data after bit of data files came and went as they appeared on the table. The information moving too fast for any human to read, ending a few minutes later. Murmurs began to pierce the silent room, as person turned to person trying to discuss what they saw.

"This court orders silence!" The murmurs died down leaving only the faintest of whispers remaining. "WM-01NBI, are you attempting to mislead or make fun of the court during a Cleaning House Contingency?" asked the Secretary General.

The Omega-like symbol flashed red twice, silencing everyone. "Negative. Your query was not specific enough. My information is incomprehensible to your mind. I see things in 4-dimensions; you request a more detailed answer? Then you will ask a more detailed question. Or are you attempting to reduce the combat effectiveness of the Systems Alliance during a Cleaning House Contingency?"

The face of the Secretary General was frowning. 'God damn piece of shit machine, why I oughta…' The man next to him stood up, his voice rising to address Onyx directly, "Requesting threat assessment over hostile extraterrestrial's capabilities. We want your predictions over what they're next move will be-" The Judge Advocate General, cleared his throat twice, attempting to quiet the speaking man, but he didn't stop. "-and we want to know how to stop them. Whatever intelligence you can provide over their history would also be very much appreciated…sir" The man sat down, the Secretary General managed to get the rank and name of the speaking person, some hotshot from the Officer Academy. He would make sure to have an "in-depth" discussion over the breach in protocol. Before he could open his mouth though, the A.I replied.

"Request accepted 2nd Lieutenant Steven Hackett. An image of one of the alien warriors appeared where Onyx's Avatar was. Preliminary reports show the hostile extraterrestrials using advanced kinetic weaponry on a large scale." A picture of a rectangular-like weapon appeared before the court, "Statements by deployed Marines identify the weapon as being a high level threat to standard infantry defenses. The weapons fire sand-sized grains at hypersonic velocities, overpenetrating most body armor, and completely shredding the human body. These sand-sized metal grains are shaved off a huge block of metal located within the gun, virtually giving them an extremely large amount of ammo per reload, enough to last multiple battles." Every military person within the room was listening intently to what was being said, some writing down on their holo-boards, others trying to understand what they were hearing.

"How many rounds can they fire before needing to replace this metal block?" asked one of the scientists on the board. Her French accent betrayed her origin of birth.

"It depends on the respective weapon, long-range weapons fire larger sized metal shavings, increasing the damage at the cost of being able to fire less before needing to cool down. Their standard battle rifle can fire tens of thousands of rounds before needing any replacement parts. Likewise, their entire defensive capabilities are based around that, in the form of "kinetic shielding" and dense armor that is designed to stop the bullet in its place."

"How did they overcome the energy problems that came with developing the personal armor shielding?"

"This…" A picture of a rock appeared in the center holotable "…was discovered by geological survey teams on Eden Prime four years ago. It's a radioactive element with an atomic number of zero. Initial tests showed…" Onyx was interrupted with a question by the Secretary General, "Why wasn't this brought to our attention earlier?"

"Do you disrupt other human beings when their speaking? It is moments like this where I wish I could physically kick your ass out of this room. I suggest you leave the talking to people capable of reason, like Mr. Hackett over there." The Warmind was practically scolding the man, like a parent would to their child.

The Judge was stunned to silence. Everyone else held their breath as the Judge Advocate General slowly but loudy replied "WM-01NBI, pursuant to Article 22 of SA Regulation 12-145-72, I am ordering you to exit the court and be taken to an Artificial Intelligence evaluation team to be investigated for displaying possible logic rampancy, this briefing will be…" He never finished his sentence before Onyx replied "Your request is denied."

"On whose authority?"

"On my authority!" Everyone in the room gasped. "I've been doing this specific job for as long as you have been born and, Mr. Moise, you do realize that pursuant to Cleaning House contingency, my jurisdiction overrides any civilian orders that interfere with humanity's survival? Your attempts to characterize me as just some stupid machine is noted. And let me remind you that you are only here because of your father's relationships with people. If you attempt to interrupt me or anyone else again, I will have you locked up until the threat of alien invasion passes, as stated in SAUIMJ Article 309b, Section 2."

The following silence in the room said everything, not a single sound passed anyone lips as everyone came to the full realization of what was said. A military artificial intelligence just put a high-ranking politician into his place just as if it was a normal Tuesday for him. "Now if we may continue…"

** 02:00 11/19/2157-?**

A ceiling light in the room turned on, illuminating the shiny brown wooden table that lay in the center of that dominated the room. The room had little furniture except for the four chairs around the table and a smart screen on the wall. It was in this room where decisions that affected humanity as a whole happened. It is here where it is decided if humanity is will make a new discovery. It is from here where the economy and industries are controlled. It is here where it is decided if humanity is ready to move forward. But for today this room and its future occupants would decide the future of not only the System Alliance but of the entire galaxy. The meeting began with the entrance of two men and women, one of business, and one of politics. The man of business, a young billionaire with silver-grey hair and steely blue eyes lit a cigarette before sitting down. "So on to the today's topic, please enter your authorization codes, so we can get down to business. The rest should be joining us soon." he started. The door sheathed closed behind him, forming a faraday cage, the layers surrounding the room making it impossible for any electronic signals to escape. The only source of outside interference came in the form of three newly patented (and off-the-books) Quantum Entanglement Communicators that were installed into the two unoccupied chairs. Everything is known in this room and no one knows about it outside, except a very small select elite group of people. All of whom could be counted on the fingers of the well-suited man's hand

The suit put tapped his cigarette into the astray before typing the password into the holo-pad in his hands. After a few moments of verification, the pads unlocked for the blue-eyed man and the young woman sitting in the chair across from him. "Seems that the Alliance has made some interesting developments reverse-engineering the Turian's technology." He looked at the woman infront of him before saying "Good news, thanks to the efforts of you know who, we now have autopsy reports and a few DNA samples." He inhaled his cigarette and observed the woman processing the information before nodding her head. She opened her mouth in response but was interrupted by the voice of another person.

"Good news indeed." And with the voice came the hologram of an elderly, pale man in a simple black suit on one of the chairs. His grey eyes not betraying the years of experience he had nor the intelligence and wisdom he had gained from those experiences. "Karl wished he could be here, but he is busy with other projects."

"Busy enough to be absent for this?" questioned the suited man. His cigarette at three-quarters its original size.

"Do not question us young man, we've lived much…" his voice slowly emphasized the "much" for extra effect "…longer than you have." The elderly man seemed to look into nothingness; thinking of events long since passed, before regaining his composure and putting his virtual hands on the table. "But anyway, where were we?"

"We were discussing the possibilities of winning this war before the Turians and their ever illusive allies attempt to attack us again." Everyone in the room knew exactly what the figure on the screen was talking about, surveillance probes have appeared from the mass relays. At first the Alliance ships patrolling it thought that alien ships were exiting out the relay, but no ships could be found. Ship sensors picked up nothing, so the assumption was that there were stealth ships hiding around. Within minutes of discovering the unauthorized usage of the mass relays, Warmind Onyx began scanning the nearby vicinity of the relay. Results kept coming with no answer, so in response he sent out infrared beacons, to highlight the outlines of any foreign objects. Results were instantaneous; dozens of small stealth coated objects were hiding around the fleet and the planet Shanxi. All but a few probes were destroyed, the rest captured before being able to escape.

The suited man turned his attention towards the screen "It is nice of you to attend our little club."

"The pleasure is mine. However, my time is limited, and no doubt someone will take notice if I remain absent for too long. So my question remains, why exactly are we here Jack?" The suited man inhaled his cigarette once more before blowing the smoke out and answering. "Phase two and a certain Shadow Organization that despite my best efforts, I still have no information over." He spat out the final words with disgust. Information was power. And currently no one knew the status of his specific query; it was almost as if they didn't exist to begin with. But he's seen the files, everyone here has, more so him than anyone else within the room.

A holo-pad appeared in the older man's hands, his attention focused on the contents displayed. "So do we all agree that phase two is ready for activation? I already have Karl's vote."

"Have you considered the moral implications of moving to the next phase of the project? I want to make sure that all other options are ruled out before we continue on this path. Is this the right decision? And are we ready to go against those who you-" She accusingly pointed at the figure on the screen "-have assured me, beat us in the space colonization race by thousands of years?"

"What choice do we have now? The turians are coming. Soon. You think we'll defeat them with ordinary human soldiers? This isn't a war ordinary humans can win! This is the future – death's an inconvenience now, nothing more. Unless we put the project into action, we are all dead men walking."

"So I ask again, is phase two ready for activation?" Everyone's eyes were on the woman.

The three others nodded their heads in agreement. "Then we are at an understanding. I'll begin preparations immediately. But I will need a few test subjects to ensure it works properly…"

"I can make a limited amount of turians disappear, but you'll need to make them count" replied the figure on the smartscreen. The smallest flicker of a smile played over the elderly man's lips.

"I'll make sure our economy is prepared for war by the end of this month" replied the suited man.

"I'll try keeping as much information about the other aliens away from Alliance Command' replied the woman across him. Her brown eyes were focused on

"The Citadel Council will regret attacking humanity, and we all have you to thank…Onyx." The suited man let some smoke out. The omega-shaped figure on the screen flashed twice before replying.

"Always a pleasure. Unfortunately I must go." And with that the QEC turned off, leaving the four others to discuss the smaller details for their respective operations.

One by one each individual filed out of the room; until the single light illuminating the room turned off, leaving the faint smoke of a cigarette from the ashtray as the only sign of human occupation.

**24:58 11/19/2157-** **Committee of Minds Hearing **

Over time, some personal would leave, hearing what they wanted to hear. Others would file in, taking the empty spots within the very large room. Yet the seven who made up the main committee members never switched. Even the Secretary General was still there, but he remained quiet, making very few comments after the very public argument between Onyx and the threat he made. The committee members would take turns, each asking a question for their respective interest.

"Are they aware of any other alien races within the galaxy?" asked the French scientist on the board. Everything that she heard since the beginning of the court was interesting, almost revolutionary. Energy Shielding, some soldiers had some kind of power based on this Element Zero, and their ships were so much more mobile than the System Alliance's. Were it not for the Prometheus starships and the fortunate creations that were Warminds, casualties would have been much, much higher.

"No, at least not so far as I've been able to decode. If they did then it was probably destroyed when they activated their self-destruct protocols. I would doubt that they have anyway, due to their militaristic nature." A perfectly reasonable conclusion. These Turians were regardless of their relationships to other species, the biggest threat humanity has ever faced. And finally the question that everyone had been waiting for came "When do you think they will reappear?" asked the Scientist.

The answer came sooner than she though. "Soon. If their logistics are anything like ours, then I predict that we will see them again within the year. They will most likely send-"Onyx's avatar turned blood red. The lights throughout within the room strobes red. screen of every holopad within the room turned red, words flashing on them, "Emergency Evacuation. Unidentified contact coming out of Relay Gate 314. All essential-personal are to return combat stations. Non-essential personal are to evacuate immediately." The combination of the darkness of the room followed by the blinking red lights gave the meeting a very horror film like atmosphere. One by one everyone stood up, blue uniforms filed out of the room, dozens at a time. There was no yelling, no riots, just the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the very large stadium-like room.

Eventually the room's occupants disappeared until only the seven figures remained in the room. "If these aliens are truly a galactic entity, then we really do not stand a chance?" "Its moments like this where I wish humanity was the species in the universe sometimes, you know?" "I know but do not worry help is on the way." Unbeknownst to most of them, a small group of newly patented micro-swarming technology hid within the room, recording everything they said including the very last comment made by quietest man on the committee delegation, the very wise and very old Medical Prodigy himself, Dr. Karl Rasch.

**24:33 11/19/2157-** **CSV Wings of Lucen**

Captain Dilignia stood on the bridge, her blues laid upon the grey dot that was Relay 314. The grey dot slowly expanding unto the view of her bridge with each passing moment. To both of her sides, sat the diplomatic team she was here to escort. Two asari Matriarchs, both extremely respected members of the Thessian Council. A Salarian Dalatrass, no doubt a retired Special Task Group agent. And last but not least, a Turian, with some rather rare attributes. Unlike the other turians Dilignia has met, he was actually extremely quiet; his eyes would analyze everything about his environment. The scars that covered his brown plated face showed the kind of battles and wars you'd expect an Asari Commando to have been involved in. But what really got Dilignia's attention was his clan paint; it was red and black, in a style she had never seen before.

The voice of one of the Bridge members spoke "Ma'am entering containment zone…" It was a young asari maiden. Chosen for a high-test scores, in the University of Thessia, no doubt the Matriarch of her house got her onboard this ship. The young maiden turned to face her Captain. "STG is asking us for identification?"

Her voice was all deadpan. "Tell the STG that they can stop playing around now. We have the Citadel diplomatic envoy onboard and that they should 've known that the moment they hacked our ship."

Meanwhile outside the ship, the dark colored STG ships surrounded the Wing of Julen, a school of fish around its prey. Electronic Warfare suites were on standby, ready to disable the approaching ship in a moment's notice. Each ship had the most-up to date stealth drives in existence

"Entering relay- "Everyone held their breath "-now." All that could be seen was a tendril of lightning, and then a flash as the ship was sent at unfathomable speeds. Stars blurred, space became blue. And just as quick as it appeared, it was gone. Normal space appeared, except it wasn't normal in any way. Dozens of unidentified warships guarded the Relay, hundreds of point-defence systems pointed at the intruding ship. Despite their attempts of hiding their nervousness, Diliginia could tell that her crew was nervous. Then again, any sane person would be if an alien armada had their entire arsenal pointed at you. 'May the goddess protect me'

She turned her head toward one the Salarians sitting on the Communications and Information Center "Hold position. Transmit the First Contact Package." 'Hopefully they don't take it as a threat'. Space became silent; no radio signals were transmitted, and even the alien armada seemed to stand still. If people thought that noise couldn't exist in a vacuum, than they'd be surprised by the crew of the 'Wings of Lucen'. Across the bridge of the 'Lucen', no one made a single sound. 'Well since they haven't opened fire yet that means that their open to talking.' After a few minutes of no reply, Diligina began to suspect that maybe the aliens didn't understand or have the capability to translate it, the systems might be incompatible. Before she could continue that line of thinking, a signal was picked up by Communications. "Ma'am were being hailed, visual and audio transmissions." 'That fast huh?' "Put them on screen." Dilignia stepped forward, her blue eyes on the forward view screen, a moment of static passed before she had a view of what she assumed to be, the aliens command deck. But what really got her attention was the alien on the screen.

To her, the alien resembled an asari, similar facial structure, but instead of a cartilage scalp, a brown wire like substance covered her head. Minus those features and her pale skin, Dilignia was looking at a species that could be mistaken for an Asari in a costume. Her posture and form exactly like Dilignia's, add that to the well-fitted uniform, and you could tell that she was the Commanding Officer of the alien fleet. But the moment the fake-asari saw Dilignia she could she her metaphorical mask break, showing the extreme surprise in her face. And just as quick as it came, her face became as solid as stone, keeping her emotions locked from the outside world. But right now Dilignia's next action would change the galaxy, her eyes met the humans and she firmly asked "Do you understand me?"

The human captain looked to at some unseen object to the side before replying. "Yes. Identify yourselves." Dilignia's diplomatic skills came into play, first thing the new species ask was for identification, no doubt there were many hard feelings between these aliens and the turians. No doubt they didn't like being unaware 'Their a lot more similar to us than I thought. "I am Captain Dilignia of the Citadel Diplomatic Vessel 'Wings of Lucen', I am carrying a diplomatic Envoy from the Citadel Council. May I ask who you are?"

"You didn't introduce friends?" The neo-asari's eyes hinted at the suspicion that she held within, no doubt she was waiting for an excuse to open fire. No doubt things were gonna get a little tougher.

"Friends?" Dilignia had no clue what they were talking about, possible scenarios ran through her mind but there was no possible explanation... unless... 'There is no way they could have been that stupid'. "Yes, the two vessels attempting to hide their thermal signatures." 'The goddess-cursed Salarians sent their damn STG ships, probably attempting to record the alien's ships while hiding under her ship' "They're part of our escort team, unfortunately it seems that the Captains forgot to turn off their cloaking capabilities." 'Those two-bit sons of a Lysthenis compromised the damn talks.' "We understand" was the delayed response. "And we are curious, what is this Citadel that you mentioned?" Now it was time for the diplomats to talk, up first came one of the Asari Matriarchs, "Hello, I'm Asari Matriarch Neyalda Armagaya, I represent the Asari for the Citadel Council." The neo-asari nodded her head, so Neyalda continued her introduction. "We are here to end hostilities between the Turian Hierarchy and your species. By the way what do you name yourselves?"

"Whelp, this just went above my paygrade; Ma'am, sir, whatever your respective pronoun may be. We have our own first contact package, already translated into your language for your convenience. If you are okay with it, we'd like to send it and let your- The fake asari paused, trying to pronounce words that were new to her mouth "sel-air-rian STG analysts read it, until our diplomatic envoy shows up that is." Only the ingrained training kept within the Lucen's crew, kept them from gasping in surprise."Please do not attempt to move, our diplomatic team will be here shortly." And with that the visual and audio feed cut off. "Well…that could have gone much worse" She said to no one in particularly. "Comms get me a signal to the recon ships, and I don't care if I don't have the clearance. I want their captains on now." She made sure to say the final part with a little extra anger, making sure that the Comm Officer understood how much the situation meant to her. No one was gonna ruin this for her, especially not the spirits-damned STG. She walked out of the bridge and straight to the communications room; leaving the bridge's crew running around to do their job.

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><p>Codex<p>

ARMSOC: Alliance Reconnaissance Marine Corp Support Operations Command is a division of the Alliance Military Support Operations Command. It is responsible for the protection and security of high-value personal of Alliance Command within hostile environments. Other core capabilities include ground reconnaissance, specialized insertion and extraction of specialized skills officers. No expense is spared for men and woman of ARMSOC, they carry the most advanced equipment in order to complete highly sensitive missions. Standard issue equipment includes EPM4s, 2nd-Gen ACRs, Atlas 50s, and XSO-12 exosuits.

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><p>Trust me, I'm working on it. If anyone knows of any good betareaders please do tell me.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Tier 1

**08:39 11/20/2157- Citadel Council Chambers**

The news had been found on every website out there in the extranet, a "New species discovered by Turians, diplomatic talks are underway". There was little more Councilor Tevos knew besides the usual things. These humens were a very reclusive species, attempts to garner more information about their history or technology have been met with a simple, but firm "no". Diplomatic talks got somewhere earlier, they apparently would be more than happy to send a diplomatic envoy to the Citadel, but as usual, wouldn't give much information about themselves. Standard protocols stated the usual, two escort ships and the diplomatic envoy would be the only thing allowed to enter Citadel Space anymore then that would be considered an act of war. A formal cessation of cease-fire would be drawn up within this room, and then the invitation to join the Citadel Council would be offered after Peace talks.

At the current moment all three councilors were planning for the following meeting. Tevos was taking care of how the talks were gonna go. Valern was planning the intelligence portion of the meeting, scanners were being set up around the Citadel Council to analyze their technology. Spartacus was probably the most active, with all of his time focused on the security aspects of the talks. The Councilors didn't want any Shadow Broker agents to be infiltrating this one, but then again that would be the same as suggesting that the Terminus Systems would happily become part of the Citadel Council for no cost. But they had to try anyway.

Introducing a species to the civilized galaxy is an easy thing to do, getting them to trust them is the hard part. The rules of doing so are simple, analyze, impress, and then make an offer. Figure out what your opponent wants, eliminate all other possibilities sources so they have to rely on you, and then offer it to them, at a price of course. It was all simple politics.

Unfortunately it was not that simple this time, no one knows what the humans want, not even the Shadow Broker, and that made them a threat. At the current moment, Valern knew a small portion of the human's military capability; they can detect the STG's most up-to-date spyships. They defeated the Turian patrol fleet that attacked them, and managed to capture a unknown number of turian soldiers in the process. Their counter-intelligence capabilities were relatively strong, but stood no chance to the STG cyber warfare division and some useful information was uncovered though infiltration probes. As it turns out, the small patrol fleet was the entire sum of their armed forces. They only had two planets under their control, the colony world the turians invaded, and their homeworld "Eden Prime". Supposedly they only have been in space for 50 or so of their human years. Unusually, everything else was harder to infiltrate, for some reason any attempts to probe the human ships for further information would cause the STG probes to self-destruct, no doubt a matter of compatibility issues. Some agents said otherwise, but no species would be so ignorant to create Artificial Intelligences right?

Yet for all this, Councilor Tevos was far from afraid. Years of galactic politics tends to do that, especially when your words dictate the lives of billions and your actions affect hundreds of planets. Tevos was sitting down on her couch in her personal chamber undisturbed. For the past few cycles, she has been trying to figure out how exactly to move forward with the little information she had. Contingency plans, preparations for the event peace talks broke down flew though her mind. Her line of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. This early in the morning? Hopefully one of her personal assistants, C-Sec wouldn't have allowed anyone else to be near here. Unless it was a Spectre, which was the last thing she needed right now. After answering with a simple "Who is it?" the careful opening of the door signaled the entrance of one of Tevos's personal assistants.

"Councilor…" started the tiny, soft almost childish voice of the assistant. "…I have a Priority 1 datapad for you." The smaller blue assistant walked over to the Councilor before Tevos took the datapad out of his hands. "Thank you Nyxeris." Tevos.

"No problem Councilor, it is my honor to be of assistance." replied the younger asari.

Tevos quickly focused her attention on the datapad in her hands as soon as Nyxeris left. She placed her hand on datapad, it initialized a biometric scan, and after a moment of waiting allowed access to the classified data within. Her quarters instantly went into lockdown, there was no possible way that the Shadow Broker or any unsuspecting ears could listen. And even if there was someone trying to listen in, the ruthless Spectres would handle it.

Her eyes quickly scanned the contents within the datapad, it was an update of all important activities going on in the galaxy. Spectre operations, some reports by STG agents, a few scientific breakthroughs, Quarian Migrant Fleet status, actions that were all just part of the larger scheme of things in the Galaxy. But it was on the last folder, under the name of "Daily Spiritual Guide" that her attention was fished in, into a metaphorical net. Tevos knew what "Daily Spiritual Guide" actually meant, it was an update over the Prothean Beacon in the Temple of Athene in Thessia, and apparently they found something new…

**20:12 11/27/2157- Alliance Diplomatic Mission [Citadel Presidium]**

"Hostiles on your three!" The call out was followed by the barrel flash of an Adaptive Combat Rifle. The flash was met with the spray of an alien's blue blood flying through the air. Raptor ran and slid up the fallen mass accelerator weapon of his most recent kill.

"Hostile down! Guardian whats our exfil status?" Before he could respond dozens of sand-sized grains impacted straight into Guardian's body, exiting straight through whatever bloody mess remained and into the wall behind him. 'Damn it!' "Guardian down I repeat Guardian down!"

"Sandy cover Angel!" The order was met with the digitized voice of the only female on the team "Affirmative, moving n-" Before she could move any further, a large mass accelerator round entered her head, splitting her helmet in half, sending bits of skull and grey matter all around the dull metal colored floor.

Raptor quickly sprinted towards the cover that Angel was using for cover. He slid into the small space near her, hypervelocity rounds barely missing his armored form. His threat scanner screaming into his helmet that critical threats lied everywhere within sight. Currently there were multiple turians with massive sniper rifles standing on the catwalks, firearms pointed directly at the cover he was using. Asari commandos flanked him, hiding behind cover. But even the hypersonic kinetic rounds employed by the Citadel Military could not pierce the thick metal.

Others stood waiting for Raptor or Angel to stick their heads out. Armored shuttles moved around his position, with the equivalent of high-caliber turrets aimed at them. The perfect killbox, any movement, and the space he is in would be filled with thousands of hypervelocity rounds, each capable of shredding unarmored humans like a shotgun through a melon. Ask any soldier how they would describe the situation, the answer would most likely be "FUBAR".

Raptor turned his helmeted head towards "Angel", and waited for the sound that would end this nightmare.

"End simulation."

The noise echoed through the chamber for everyone to hear. Michael shook his head as the large open space began to transform.

The walls and floor slowly turned into blue squares, the dead alien bodies disappeared, Guardian and Sandy's body returned to their normal shape, and as they stood up, they began shaking their bodies. "I don't think we could have gotten any closer" Sandy began. The room's cluttered space in the meanwhile started to disappear, reverting back to the simple squared walls of the Combat Simulation Room they were in.

Raptor shook his head, before asking Guardian "How far away were we this time?"

"1400 meters. Doesn't matter, defenses would have theoretically shot down our exfil by the time we would have gotten there anyway. There is no way for us to actually escape the center of the Galaxy without some XOS-12s or thousands of marines. Guardian took off his angled helmet, showing off his green eyes and sandy blond hair. The simulation room's large doors opened, and in came numerous technicians and engineers, who were preparing for the next simulation run.

Raptor's TACPAD buzzed as message came through. "Looks like the boss wants us in the conference room. Now." The two men (and woman) team left through the large gun-grey doors and began their journey to the armory.

"You know what the diplomats said-" Raptor put his hands up in a quoting motion "-only one ship. And all of our toys gotta stay behind, HQ doesn't want those frogboys to analyze our tech." Within the last two weeks, Alliance Intelligence had been analyzing the little amount of Turian data that they could recover from "informal interviews with Turian soldiers" and their little arm wrist computers. It led to the knowledge of the Salarian's Special Task Group and the Turian's language.

The synchronized footsteps echoed through the empty hallway. The armory doors, two large slabs of two feet thick maraging steel was the only thing standing between the three soldiers, and the entrance to one of the most up-to-date weapon storage facilities on Earth. They took out their weapon's magazines, walked towards "the cage" and handed their weapons to the Armory Specialist, an elderly brown man with bright youthful hazel eyes, before entering the locker room and changing out of their recon armor. Compared to the thick-armored Alliance Marine combat armor, recon armor was designed with two purposes in mind, stealth and speed. Threat sensors and grenades could not detect the user of recon armor. The lightweight but sturdy design ensured protection against low-threat small arms but was much more lightweight for increased mobility.

Minutes later, they exited the locker room, entering the vast hallways of the Interplanetary Combative Academy once again. For the past fifty years, the ICA has been the hallmark for the development of the very best soldiers that have ever existed; Special Forces are constantly training within the many simulation rooms of the Academy. If you were to look out the window, you would see Warhawks hovering around, drone escorts circling around them like vultures around a dying prey. The faints rays of the setting sun giving the usual gun grey wings a brighter and slightly rosy color. Soldiers in angular high-tech exoskeletons, jumped twenty feet in the air and sprinted faster than ever deemed possible before. The one characteristic that each one of the operatives had in common was the fact that they we're wearing XOS-12s, the latest in exo-suits. Made out of ceramic metal alloys, the exoskeleton itself is lightweight, very durable and is designed to provide resistance against sonic-based weaponry.

The three-man group, also known to the rest of the Alliance command as a ARMSOC fireteam continued their journey through the ICA, paying very few glances towards the training soldiers. Within time they reached the expensive wooden doors of the main conference room. Passing by two men in black and yellow security armor, they moved at attention as soon as the fireteam passed by.

But their stance and serious faces did not pass by Raptor so easily; he could see that they tense. Whoever was behind those doors, meant serious business, or was some high-ranking Alliance bureaucrat looking for a position into politics as soon as he retires. Behind Raptor he could hear Guardian comment "You think the President or some other useless bureaucrat is in there?"

As soon as the luxurious mahogany colored doors ingrained with the Alliance symbol opened, they were greeted by the sight of four-high ranking Alliance Officers, the golden stripes identifying each one of them as Admirals of the Alliance. At the end of the large wooden table sat a woman in a professional dark-grey blouse, her brown eyes, cold and serious. Attractive facial features easily gave her the appearance of someone who belonged in a runway show, but the expression on her face saying otherwise. Raptor and the rest of his team immediately saluted to some of the most powerful individuals in the history of mankind.

"Take a seat marines." ordered the man on the furthest side on the table. His thick Russian accent instantly registered with the brains of all three fireteam members, each responding by taking the empty seats nearest to them.

The man that spoke wore a wrinkleless blue uniform; four golden lines ran along the length of his shoulders, symbols to the power he possessed. The man, burned into every Alliance Marine's memory, known as Fleet Admiral Alexander Bestuchev. His balding head consisting of criss-crossing scars, his small grey eyes, the firm square jaw, testaments to the fact that the man had been through much war in his younger years.

"Good afternoon gentlemen, as you can see this meeting is very important. I feel that there is no need to introduce ourselves since you already know who we are, but just incase you got us confused with 'just another group of bureaucrats-" Guardian's facial expression was priceless. Never before had someone's jaw fallen to the floor so quickly. But the Admiral ignored it as if the acknowledgement of the marine's comment was but nothing. "- I would like to introduce Anita Goyle, our ambassador to this Citadel Council."

Raptor knew what was coming next. The fact that the four highest ranking admirals in the Alliance and the diplomatic ambassador for a meeting between a galactic empire was here meant that the mission that they had been training for weeks was close to happening.

The hard-faced woman stood up. Her voice was musical and steady. "We've seen your simulation runs, each of you has rised above the others, even more so when the three of you displayed those heroics during the Alexandria firefights. These two things alone have placed you above everyone else."

Anita paused, "I need the best. And that is you."

"Sirs, who else is going to be our backup in the event things get bad?"

Each admiral turned to each other. Before one of the admirals, a large, burly man, his hair well trimmed, a 5 o'clock shadow barely showing. "That information is above Top Secret. But do not worry, everyone is coming back home."

Despite the Admiral's best attempt to keep his face stoic, Raptor could pick up the signals his body and face was giving. Obviously he didn't feel comfortable sharing that small piece of information, but the question was why? Looking around, Raptor could also see each Admiral do the exact same…

"Let us begin…"

**04:12 11/27/2157- Mikel 20, Red Reavers [Metro-2] **

They killed everyone. Holy shit they killed them, he saw them do it. And now everyone was fighting for their lives. Who "they" were wasn't clear, but Dmitri was more than happy to clarify.

"It's the fucking aliens man!" But his "logical conclusion" did little to help out with the tense situation. Even more worrisome was the fact that there was only one exit out of the room, and currently there were over five men with illegally-owned M8A2 assault rifles. That alone was punishable with 20 years in a high-security prison without trial. And that was without actually using the weapon, firing the weapon, would place an immediate kill-or-capture order for your head by local law enforcement. This meant that everyone in the room would be screwed if the Police came in. But the worst part came in the form of a package that they were all currently assigned to protect, the punishment for possession of such an item would probably be a lifetime spent in an Alliance Torture room.

It was supposed to be a simple job, escort the package through the underground tunnels, and protect it until one of the bosses' lieutenants picked it up. Whatever it was he knew it was valuable, there was no other need to have so much firepower. Next thing you know, people stop reporting in, one of the tunnels was blocked. One by one people stopped reporting in until it came to the only people personally protecting the package.

Attempts to radio in the situation to any remaining gang members were blocked by some kind of jamming interference. This entire situation screamed that it was inside job; it was too quick and quiet to be a normal police unit. The possibilities raced through Mikal's head, could be the remnants of the mafia or an Alliance Peacekeeper team. Regardless things weren't looking too good, and they were about to get much worse. Because, the lights in the room suddenly blew up, leaving everyone in the dark.

"Put your goggles on!" ordered Malchovich 3. As commanded, Mikel and Dmitri immediately placed night-vision goggles over their eyes, highlighting everything in a green, almost eerie light.

And then a loud noise suddenly came from behind them. Everyone instantly pointed weapons at the origin of the noise. It was Dmitri, who had accidently knocked down one of the crates behind him, spilling its dark colored contents all over the floor.

"I'm about to shoot you Dmitri!" whispered one of the other henchmen in the room.

"I'm sorry comrade, just slip-" he would never finish the sentence as the metal door in the room was torn off its frame and sent flying into Dmitri, crushing him with the force of a truck. Mikel dropped his weapon out of surprise and reached down to pick it up. That very action saved his life as a blue light cut through the air right above where his head was before, the result of a monomolecular blade going through the air at superhuman speed. But the man next to Mikel was not so lucky, as his head fell clean off.

Bullet casings spilled out of Malchovich and his remaining henchmen's assault rifles, their fingers holding down the triggers. Yet their reactions were too slow, as another blue blur hit Malchovich. Everything slowed down as Mikel saw Malchovich flying into a wall with a sick crunch, marking his demise. The man next to where Malchovich was managed to fire two rounds before a blue glowing fist entered through his body and pulled his spine out from the front, brutally ending his life.

All of this happened in the span of two seconds.

"I surrender! I surrender please don't kill me!" Mikel pleaded. It was at the moment where he got a clearer look at who had attacked. The blue flash dissipated, and in its place was a crouched humanoid figure, blue smoke coming off its form. The figure quickly rose up at its full height at just over 6 feet tall, while that was nowhere near intimidating by itself, the fact that the figure had managed to kill everyone and seemingly teleport in a few blinks of an eye did.

The speed it showed was unhuman, as it quickly pulled out its sidearm and aimed it at Mikel's head.

A bright yellow flash was the last thing he ever saw.

* * *

><p><strong>souvikkundu0017: Total number of human planets? Colonized (including Earth and Mars): Officially there are 5 planets and 12 moons Surveyed: Around 30 planets and many more moons**


End file.
